Yes, there are only two days until Mother's Day. If you're like me, you haven't done anything for your own mom or all the other moms you want to honor. Here are some last minute gift ideas that lean towards being green.
Buy flowers or a flowering plant at your local farmer's market - For the past few years, I have bought my mom a humungous hanging basket of pansies, taken it right to her house, hung it on her lamp post and just left.
Give her a tomato plant in a container - If mom doesn't have a vegetable garden, one potted tomato plant can give her yummy tomatoes all season long and all she'll have to do is step out the back door or on her apartment balcony to pick it.
If you're going to send her flowers, find a florist local to her who offers local flowers. A delivery of organically grown local flowers is much more environmentally friendly than sending her flowers that were shipped from another country through a national florist.
Bake her favorite treat using all organic ingredients. My mom likes rhubarb. It's in season right now. I think I'll be creating something tempting tomorrow with rhubarb.
Buy her all natural beauty products. If your mom likes to pamper herself, check out the all natural/organic products that are available and purchase a few for her to try.
Take her to a restaurant that uses local, sustainable foods. Go to www.eatwellguide.org to find one near you (this website is great - it also gives you the locations of farmer's markets, csa's and other places to get local foods near you).
Buy her music, DVD's or books from a used dealer. This one will depend on how your mom feels about it. Some mom's might be insulted, but others will be perfectly fine with a gently used copy of these things. And because they will be cheaper than buying new, you can buy her more.
Buy her art from a local artist - Not so much green as it is supporting the local economy, but I'm beginning to see a connection between sustaining the earth and sustaining the local economy.
Give her a gift certificate that allows her to invest in a micro loan - Micro loans are usually given to people who need a small loan to begin a business. They can buy a loom for someone who wants a textile business or a cow for someone who needs one for a farm. One reputable place is Kiva, and you can buy a gift certificate for as little as $25 that can be invested in the person of your choosing.
I hope you found something worthwhile in the list. I know that just generating these ideas helped me decide what to do.
Happy Mother's Day!
2 comments:
Here's another tip for gift giving. I was trying to decide if I should buy gift bags or not when I saw the rack with reusable bags (ones that fit in their purses, by the way I've been using mine, just training myself to remember it's there). So I decided to use them as packaging and part of their gift:) Hopefully they'll take it next time they go to the store
-Janine
Good idea to wrap in a reusable bag. I'm going to steal it!
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